Environmental Impacts of the Coal Ash Spill in Kingston, Tennessee: An 18-Month Survey

dc.contributor.author

Ruhl

dc.contributor.author

L

dc.contributor.author

Vengosh, A

dc.contributor.author

Dwyer

dc.contributor.author

G, S

dc.contributor.author

Hsu-Kim

dc.contributor.author

H

dc.contributor.author

Deonarine

dc.date.accessioned

2011-06-21T17:25:55Z

dc.date.available

2011-06-21T17:25:55Z

dc.date.issued

2010

dc.description.abstract

An 18 month investigation of the environmental impacts of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) coal ash spill in Kingston, Tennessee combined with leaching experiments on the spilled TVA coal ash have revealed that leachable coal ash contaminants (LCACs), particularly arsenic, selenium, boron, strontium, and barium, have different effects on the quality of impacted environments. While LCACs levels in the downstream river water are relatively low and below the EPA drinking water and ecological thresholds, elevated levels were found in surface water with restricted water exchange and in pore water extracted from the river sediments downstream from the spill. The high concentration of arsenic (up to 2000 mu g/L) is associated with some degree of anoxic conditions and predominance of the reduced arsenic species (arsenite) in the pore waters. Laboratory leaching simulations show that the pH and ash/water ratio control the LCACs' abundance and geochemical composition of the impacted water. These results have important implications for the prediction of the fate and migration of LCACs in the environment, particularly for the storage of coal combustion residues (CCRs) in holding ponds and landfills, and any potential CCRs effluents leakage into lakes, rivers, and other aquatic systems.

dc.description.version

Version of Record

dc.identifier.citation

Ruhl,Laura;Vengosh,Avner;Dwyer,Gary S.;Hsu-Kim,Heileen;Deonarine,Amrika. 2010. Environmental Impacts of the Coal Ash Spill in Kingston, Tennessee: An 18-Month Survey. Environmental science & technology 44(24): 9272-9278.

dc.identifier.issn

0013-936X

dc.identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10161/4029

dc.language.iso

en_US

dc.publisher

American Chemical Society (ACS)

dc.relation.isversionof

10.1021/es1026739

dc.relation.journal

Environmental science & technology

dc.subject

Carbon

dc.subject

Chemical Hazard Release

dc.subject

Coal Ash

dc.subject

Environment

dc.subject

Environmental Monitoring

dc.subject

Hydrogen-Ion Concentration

dc.subject

Metalloids

dc.subject

Metals, Heavy

dc.subject

Oxidation-Reduction

dc.subject

Particulate Matter

dc.subject

Rivers

dc.subject

Tennessee

dc.subject

Water Movements

dc.subject

Water Pollutants, Chemical

dc.subject

Water Supply

dc.title

Environmental Impacts of the Coal Ash Spill in Kingston, Tennessee: An 18-Month Survey

dc.title.alternative
dc.type

Other article

duke.contributor.orcid

Vengosh, A|0000-0001-8928-0157

duke.contributor.orcid

Hsu-Kim|0000-0003-0675-4308

duke.date.pubdate

2010-12-15

duke.description.issue

24

duke.description.volume

44

pubs.begin-page

9272

pubs.end-page

9278

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
285266900007.pdf
Size:
4.62 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format